The Big Talent Show
by MadDogLucario96
Summary: Inspired by the first end credits. Rin hears of an upcoming talent show at True Cross Academy and enlists the help of the Kyoto Trio and Yukio to create an act. Between them, will they last through the rehearsal process and win the talent show? Will Rin and Shima win the hearts of Shiemi and Izumo? Find out. Some language, but it is Blue Exorcist.
1. Coming Together

**Howdy. This is my first entry into the Blue Exorcist fan verse. I've grown pretty obsessed with this anime over the last few months, as well as Kyoto Saga, and it has become one of my favorites along with the manga to it. This was inspired by the first ending to each episode (the one with 'Take Off' by 2pm) so I hope you guys enjoy it. This will be divided up into three separate chapters. **

**Disclaimer: Blue Exorcist is the property of Viz Media and Kazue Kato. Any songs used or mentioned don't belong to me either.**

* * *

Being fifteen is hard. It's the age that symbolizes being halfway between a child and an adult, starting high school, and for most, learning how to drive. On top of that, there's the raging hormones, fitting in with your peers, and trying to navigate the waters of young adulthood.

Throw in being the son of Satan and that is Rin Okumura's life in a nutshell.

Rin, on the surface, was a normal fifteen-year-old; dark blue hair, piercing blue eyes, and athletic as they come. He wasn't the best student at school; heck, one could say that he was the absolute worst. But he more than made up for that with his field smarts and athletic abilities. As the son of Satan, he was more than just an average fifteen year old; his ears were pointed like an elf's and longer canine teeth than an average person's.

A nineties dance song blared extra loud over the boom box in the small dorm room. Rin Okumura didn't need to worry about complaints because it was just him and his twin brother Yukio in the entire building at True Cross Academy. He had free reign to do whatever he liked in complete privacy.

He did a quick spin, followed by karate chops to both sides of his body. He floated gracefully across the floor, the music guiding every step as he moved fluidly from one move to the next. He loved dancing. It was something that would make him feel right whenever it seemed like the whole world was out to get him again. All that mattered was the music taking his soul to new heights.

"Got canned heat in my heels tonight, baby," he mouthed along with the words to the song. Kuro, his cat/familiar, followed along happily among his feet.

"_This is so fun!" _the cat meowed with a big smile on his little face.

Just as Rin was about to transition into the next move, the song cut out. He looked over at the boom box, almost worrying that something was defective about it. The answer to that question stood right next to the device.

Yukio Okumura, the youngest of the Okumura twins, looked at his older brother with a puzzled look. While Rin's hair had a blue tint to it, Yukio's was tinted brown. Glasses rested over blue eyes that were just as piercing as his brother's. Between the two of them, Yukio was very handsome with a well-chiseled face that girls fawned over. He had a mole on his chin and two on his left cheek, one just under the bottom part of his left lens.

"Rin, what are you doing?" he finally asked, sounding like a parent catching their child with a hand in the cookie jar.

Rin didn't answer as he gazed back at his brother. The two didn't say a word for several moments, leading Rin to fear that a scolding was coming on. Despite being the oldest of the two, the way he acted sometimes led people to believe that _he _was the younger brother; not Yukio.

Kuro could feel the uncomfortable atmosphere too and decided that now was the time to make his escape. He burst out the door and headed down the hall towards his litter box in the cafeteria of the dorm.

Rin couldn't take the tense atmosphere any longer and finally said something. "Nothing. I was just…um…I was…" he struggled to come up with an explanation, and the way Yukio glared at him didn't help.

"What does it matter?" he snapped. "I was dancing; I wasn't doing anything illegal, so don't look at me like that, damn it!"

Yukio snorted a chuckle to himself. It was best to let the matter go before he got Rin wound up enough to unleash his flames. He was still learning how to control them, so it was a game of Russian roulette that Yukio did not want to play.

"Fine," he said. "Have it your way then."

He sat down and put his briefcase on top of his desk. Much like Yukio himself, the desk was thoroughly organized and neat with books arranged alphabetically by title, genre, and author on the shelves. He took some papers out of his briefcase and grabbed his red pen to begin grading. In addition to being a student at True Cross Academy, he was also a teacher and had the unfortunate luck to have Rin in one of his classes.

"You know," said Yukio with a mischievous smile as he focused on grading. "There is a talent show coming up in two weeks. You're a pretty good dancer, so you should sign up for it if you're interested."

Rin cocked an eyebrow. "A talent show? Haven't heard about it."

"I'm surprised you haven't. There's been flyers posted around the school for weeks now."

Rin searched his memory bank for noticing any flyers around the school halls when he would walk from class to class. It finally clicked with him: He did see something talking about a talent show coming up at the end of the month.

His eyes widened in excitement as a large Cheshire cat smile rose up on his face.

"Awesome!" he cried, punching his fist into the air. He pictured himself dazzling the audience with his amazing dance moves, everyone's eyes completely on him as he delivered the greatest performance anyone had seen. And when the end came, he was announced as the winner.

He blushed when an image of Shiemi Moriyama, a classmate that he had a huge crush on since the first time they met, appeared and she said that she liked him too. A shiver went down his spine at that.

Rin threw his arms around Yukio's neck, with the younger brother gasping in surprise.

"You're the best, you know that?" Rin gushed as he rubbed his cheek against his brother's head. "I'm gonna win that thing, and it's all because of you, my precious brother."

"N-No problem, Rin," Yukio's eyes bulged out of his skull, feeling uncomfortable in his brother's embrace. "Could you let go of me, please? I have papers to grade. Before you can think about signing up, first do your homework."

Rin smiled with pride. "My homework is already done," he said as he flashed a paper in Yukio's face. "Feel free to check it too."

The younger Okumura twin sighed and looked over the paper. Things seemed fine for the first line and then he frowned, releasing an exasperated groan. He turned the paper back towards Rin.

"You're giving me an ulcer, Rin. You call these scribbles homework?"

The smile on Rin's face disappeared instantly. He snatched the paper from his brother's hand and plopped his butt in his desk chair. His fantasy continued playing in his head as he re-did his homework.

'_Look out, True Cross! I'm coming!'_

* * *

The lunch bell rang around noon the next day and hundreds of students flocked around the school to enjoy their lunch break. Those who could afford it went to the cafeteria while others went out onto the grounds or stayed in the classroom to eat. Rin was in the latter category.

The whole morning was a blur of him not paying attention in class more than he usually did because he was too excited about signing up for the talent show. Once the bell rang, he stayed in his classroom along with Shiemi, Izumo Kamaki, and the kid with the pink rabbit puppet. His other friends, the Kyoto Trio of Ryuji Suguro, Renzo Shima, and Konekomaru Miwa, left to go somewhere else to eat. At least, that's what he thought.

After finishing his lunch, Rin walked down the hallway to sign up for the show at the entrance to the auditorium. As he passed a music room, the sound of singing caught his extra-sensitive ears. He stopped walking. Three voices were singing together in perfect harmony. Rin couldn't name the song, but it was nothing short of beautiful.

He opened the door just a bit to peek into the room. His eyes widened when he saw the Kyoto Trio were the ones singing.

"_**I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me. He's just a poor boy from a poor family. Spare him his life from this monstrosity. Easy come, easy go. Will you let me go? Bismillah! No, we will not let you go. Let him go!" **_

Suguro's smooth baritone and Konekomaru's falsetto complimented Shima's tenor voice as they filled the entire room with the sounds of their singing. Rin watched silently from the doorway, completely mesmerized by the performance.

An idea came to his mind. Rather than it being just him dancing for the talent show, maybe the four of them could join forces. They could do a boy band act and get girls screaming for them that way. A smile rose up his face. The thought of it was enough to send chills of excitement down his spine.

While he was thinking, the three of them had finished the song. They smiled softly at each other for a moment until Suguro spoke.

"That was good, but we can do better," said the burly fifteen-year-old, his eyes narrowed in his trademark scowl. "Shima, don't change your voice to match one of ours. You have to keep your concentration."

"Sorry, Bon," The pink-haired boy scratched the back of his head nervously, angry at himself for screwing up than the person who called him out. "That was my fault."

Suguro then turned to Konekomaru. He was the shortest of the three with cat-like eyes behind a pair of red glasses, and his head was completely shaved.

"Konekomaru, you were flat in the middle there. Watch it."

"Got it," Konekomaru muttered, his gaze fixed down at the floor.

Before they could begin another song, Rin picked that moment to make himself known to the three boys.

"AWESOME!"

The three of them jumped from the volume of the cry. Their eyes snapped to the doorway and saw Rin standing there with his eyes bulged in amazement. He had stepped inside the room by this point.

"O-Okumura," Konekomaru stuttered.

"What a surprise," Shima echoed with a nervous smile.

Suguro glared at the half-demon boy. "What the hell, dude?!" he exclaimed. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that without a word of warning! What's wrong with you?"

Rin was too caught up in his daydream to acknowledge Suguro's complaint. Ever since the class got back from Kyoto, the trio had begun building a steady friendship with Rin that was still a work in progress. Rin had gained their trust by now, but he could still feel a sense of trepidation from them.

"Sorry," he finally said. "But I couldn't help but overhear you guys from the hall. You were so awesome!"

"Thanks," Konekomaru blushed.

"We've been singing together since we were little kids," Shima explained. "Back at home, they used to call us the Singing Dragons around the temple."

Suguro now stood in front of Rin. The smaller teenager had to look up in order to make eye contact with the taller male. He was so close that the smell of Axe and musk overpowered Rin's nose.

"What do you want, Okumura?" Suguro asked, sounding more curious than annoyed.

Rin smiled. "What I want is you guys. Have you heard about the talent show coming up soon?"

Suguro and Shima shrugged their shoulders indifferently. Konekomaru's face became slightly pale; no one would have noticed because of his natural pale complexion.

"Yeah, so?" said Shima.

"What I was thinking…" Rin continued, pausing for dramatic effect. "…was you guys join forces with me to form an act. I was going to sign up just for myself, but I think doing something as a group would be way better. We'd do it all: choreography, harmonies, and dozens of girls screaming for us. What do you think?"

Suguro and Konekomaru stared blankly at him like he had lost his mind. Shima, on the other hand, drooled over the prospect of girls fawning all over him; Izumo most of all. It was safe to say that he had a bit of a crush on her, despite her telling him to get lost every time he tried to make a move with her.

He did not need to think about it any further.

"Well," said Suguro. "Maybe we should-"

"We'll do it!" Shima cried.

"HUH?!" his friends gasped in surprise. Konekomaru looked like he was going to be sick at this point, while Suguro was completely beside himself with shock.

"Shima, are you out of your mind?!" he exclaimed.

"No, Bon, I am completely sane."

"Why do we have to be involved too?!" Konekomaru whined, hoping and praying that he could find a way out of this.

"Because we're a package deal," the pink-haired boy said matter-of-factly. "I won't sing with anyone else unless you guys are there with me."

The two boys now felt torn. Shima did have a point: the three of them had done everything together since they were very young. This was definitely out of their comfort zone; they had only sung together in private, never in public, so it would be a first for them.

Rin stepped in to try knocking them off of the fence and onto his side.

"Come on, Suguro," he teased, nudging him playfully in the side with an elbow. "What have you got to lose?"

The rooster-haired teenager finally sighed. He couldn't believe he was being coerced into this, but he didn't see what harm would come from it. Konekomaru looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him not to agree to it.

"Can you sing?" he asked Rin.

"Watch," the blue-haired boy smiled before erupting into song. "_**Oh Mandy. When you came and you gave without taking. But I sent you away, oh Mandy. When you kissed me and stopped me from shaking. But I need you today, oh Mandy." **_

"Okay, you're good." Suguro had to admit he was impressed. Rin had a good tenor voice that would easily compliment Shima's if they sang together.

"So are you guys in?"

After another second, Suguro shrugged. "Ah, what the hell," he said. "We'll do it."

"YES!" Rin punched a fist into the air, a joyous grin plastered on his face. While he celebrated, the feline-faced boy rushed up to Suguro.

"B-B-Bon, are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Don't be such a chicken, Konekomaru," Suguro teased with a smirk. "This will be nothing for us. Remember when we sang during dinners at the temple?"

Konekomaru's pupils dilated. He didn't have too many good memories of singing in front of others. "Yeah, but-" he began to say.

"But we never got to perform outside of it because of someone's stage fright," Shima interrupted, glaring right at him.

An embarrassed blush erupted on Konekomaru's face. "I do not get stage fright!"

"Then what do you call puking in the backroom and running away when the choir concert was about to begin?" Suguro smirked.

Even though his two friends had him cornered, Konekomaru was not going to be browbeaten into submission.

"That was one time!" he said.

"Actually, that happened every time," Shima struggled to control his giggles.

"SHIMA!"

Rin threw an arm around him and pulled him into his side, giving the boy a bright smile as the two other boys were pulled in too.

"No need to worry, Konekomaru," he said. "This is going to be awesome. Come on, guys. Let's go sign up!"

'_Mother, Father, help me get out of this!' _Konekomaru thought as Rin escorted them down to the office to sign up. He honestly felt like throwing up right now.

* * *

**Poor Koneko XD We'll see where this goes. Hope you guys enjoyed it and are excited for what's next. Again, the lasting image of them doing boy band moves at the end left an impression on me, as well as most of you, that I had to use that in a story idea. May update sporadically, but it will never be too long. I promise. **

**Be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think. I'll respond to them with each new chapter. See you guys next time ;-) **

**Song credits are 'Canned Heat' by Jamiroquai (famously from Napoleon Dynamite), the operatic section of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen, and 'Mandy' by Barry Manilow. **


	2. Rehearsals

**Hello, everyone. I know it has been six months since I first updated, but I am back now. I was stuck with how to proceed with this chapter mostly, and then I had to move on to take care of other business, but I have figured out where to go with this now and am moving full speed ahead. **

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The sun was beginning to set, shrouding the world in bright pink, peach, and orange colors as the Kyoto Trio walked down the path leading to Rin's dorm building. After taking a couple of days to set their schedule for rehearsals, it was finally time to begin.

Suguro had slowly come around to the idea during that time, despite his prior reservations about it. The more he thought about it, the better it sounded to him.

The same could not be said for Konekomaru.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Bon?" the cat-faced boy asked as they neared the building. He was trying to figure a way out of this, but his two friends wouldn't let him.

Suguro sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you 'yes' before you finally calm down, Konekomaru?"

"Besides, this could be our one-way ticket to girls!" Shima exclaimed, his head beginning to fill with fantasies of Izumo being all over him.

"Maybe for you, ya sicko!" Suguro smacked him on the head.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Konekomaru muttered as they finally reached the front door.

Suguro looked up towards the window above them. "Hey, Okumura!" he called. "We're here!"

The window flew up and there stood Rin gazing down at them.

"Hey guys!" he yelled, happy to see them. "Come on in and make yourselves at home. I'll be right down."

"You've got it," replied Suguro as he, Shima, and Konekomaru walked through the front door.

The main staircase hit them flat in the face once they walked inside. There were two long hallways on either side with wide corridors, making the building seem more mysterious and creepy than it should have been. The Kyoto Trio found it hard to believe that just Rin and Yukio lived here.

"What's up, guys?" Rin's excited voice interrupted their browsing of the entrance hall. "Good to see you."

The trio muttered their greetings before following Rin up the stairs. After going up three flights, they turned left to go down another hallway. They passed three more doors before Rin finally stopped in front of one.

"This is it," he said before opening the door.

The Kyoto Trio did everything they could to keep their jaws from hitting the floor once they went inside. The room was almost like a real dance studio; there were mirrors on the far wall with a stereo resting against it. The room also had hardwood floors and wide windows next to the mirrors to allow plenty of light.

While they stared in wide-eyed amazement, Rin went over to the stereo to pop in a CD he was carrying with him.

"Welcome to day one of rehearsals, gentleman," he said. "Before we get started, I want to say that we are going to win this talent show no matter what! In order to do that, we need to put in the work."

Rin paused for effect to survey the trio's response. None of them said anything, but their expressions conveyed all that he needed to know.

"So let's get started!"

"Hold on, Okumura!" Konekomaru said. "Shouldn't we take this a little slow? I mean, we don't know what song it is we're going to be doing."

Rin grinned at the bald-headed boy and pressed the 'play' button on the stereo. The song filled the room with its funky beats and catchy lyrics. Suguro reacted with disgust.

"Oh, God! No way!" he grimaced with his tongue out. "We are not doing that!"

Rin frowned. "Shut up! That's a great song, dude!"

"It's fuckin' cliché, Okumura! Let's do something different."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

Suguro rubbed his index finger along the stubble on his chin as he looked around the room for anything that would inspire him. Shima and Konekomaru knew that look well after seeing it many times so they waited in breathless anticipation. That look usually resulted in something brilliant.

The burly teenager's eyes finally rested on Rin's t-shirt. The word '_Queen' _went across the front. That opened something inside of him. Suguro was a huge Queen fan, as were Shima and Konekomaru, so they sang a lot of their songs. If he could figure out how to integrate Rin into the act, the talent show was theirs to win. He smiled. This could work.

Shima saw the small smile going up his friend's face. He smiled too.

"Whatcha got, Bon?" he asked.

Suguro took a moment to let the thought plant itself in his head before responding.

"How's about we do a medley of Queen songs?" he said. "It'd give us each a chance to showcase our voices and give a new take on some of their classics. Shima, Koneko, we already know most of their songs forwards, backwards, sideways, and in circles. Plus the crowd will love it. What do you guys think?"

Rin's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as the widest smile burst onto his face, revealing his fangs. His heart pounded with excitement.

"That…is…BRILLIANT!" he exclaimed. "Let's do it! You are the man, Suguro!"

Suguro shrugged indifferently, but he couldn't help but feel proud at the praise. A small smile inched up the left corner of his mouth. "Eh, I just have a knack for these kinds of things."

Shima shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

Konekomaru scratched the back of his head nervously. He still wasn't entirely sold on the idea of performing. Singing with Shima and Suguro in private was one thing, but performing in front of a crowd was completely different. If they were at least going to do familiar songs, then it made him feel a little better about it.

"I guess that would be fine," he said nervously.

"Alright," Suguro cracked his knuckles and stepped to the front of the room. "Let's get to work."

* * *

"No, no, no!" Suguro snapped after Rin messed up another part in the song. "That's not how you do it, Okumura. When you're in a group, you have to blend your voices together to sound like one. Don't try to stand out from the rest of us. Got it?"

Rin growled in frustration. Blue flames flickered on his shirt. He took a deep breath and they disappeared before anything else could happen. Shima and Konekomaru eyed him nervously.

"Yeah, don't worry, man," he replied calmly. "I've got it."

Shima and Konekomaru exhaled in relief. Though Rin had better control of his flames now, they didn't want to take the chance of him losing that control and be burned in the process.

"Okay. From the top."

The group restarted their vocal exercises. Suguro snapped his fingers to keep them in time with the beat. They went five minutes of being in perfect sync with each other, and so they started into one of their songs. Rin tried to block out the rest of the guys and focus on his part, like Suguro told him to do, and was surprised at how great they all sounded together.

'_This just may work!' _he thought excitedly. _'Fate must be on my side.' _

The four of them smiled widely at each other as they finished the song. The Kyoto Trio must have had the same thought Rin had because they had a sparkle in their eyes that said they were excited about this too.

"Wow," said Shima. "We sound pretty good together."

Konekomaru nodded, but Suguro was as stoic as ever. Even so, Rin knew that he was as proud of their performance so far as them.

"We've got a good start," he said. "But we still have a lot of work to do if we are going to win this talent show. This week, we're just working on our vocals." He glanced at Rin. "Next week, you take over, Okumura, and show us how we're gonna dance."

Rin smiled widely and gave a thumbs up. "You got it!"

The trio bid farewell to Rin and left the studio. They had been at it for five hours so it was pitch black outside by now.

'_Boy, time sure flies by when you're having fun,'_ Rin thought.

"YAHOO!" he cried, jumping around the dance studio.

Just outside the window, Mephisto was relaxing on his floating chair and sipping a cup of tea. This was certainly an interesting turn of events. He had not planned for something like this.

"Well, well," he mused. "A song and dance number. Let's see what you have up your sleeve, little brother."

* * *

Izumo turned at the sound of whispers behind her.

Her red eyes narrowed at what she saw. Rin and the Kyoto Trio were huddled around a desk and writing something down in a notebook. Ever since Kyoto, the four of them had become friendly, but she wasn't aware that they were this friendly. Something had to be up.

"Ooh, let's put that there," Rin whispered.

"Nah, let's put it here," Shima countered. "It'd go better with this."

"You're both wrong! It goes better right here!" Suguro whispered a little bit louder than normal.

Rin shushed for him to quiet down, but it was too late.

"What are you idiots up to?"

The four boys looked up from the notebook and were surprised to see Izumo standing in front of them. Her hands rested on her hips as she eyed them curiously.

Shima's face turned as pink as his hair while his eyes traced down her long, toned legs. Though others found her to be frightening when she was angry, Shima thought the opposite. He found it to be one of the things he liked most about her. There was something about Izumo when she was annoyed that got his motor running at twenty.

"I-Izumo," the pink-haired boy greeted with a nervous chuckle. "My, you're looking as beautiful as ever today."

Izumo scoffed and stuck her nose in the air at him. "I know your game, pervert, so don't think you can play nice with me," she huffed.

"What game?" he replied innocently. "I'm just giving you a compliment."

"Whatever. Just tell me what you guys are whispering about."

"None of your business," Suguro said. "It's just guy stuff."

Izumo raised one of her dotted eyebrows. "Guy stuff?" she replied incredulously.

"Yeah," Rin chimed in. "It's complicated guy stuff that girls like you would not understand."

The glare on her face remained.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. We're not doing anything stupid. I promise."

"Good morning, class."

The door to the classroom opened and Yukio walked inside. He laid his briefcase on his desk and went to the board. As he turned around, he noticed the five students standing up in their seats.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Kamiki?" he asked.

Izumo turned around to look back at the young teacher. She was more passive than she was a second ago.

"N-No, Mr. Okumura," she muttered. "Not at all. I'll just take my seat."

And she did without another word. Shima, Suguro, and Konekomaru went to their side of the room as Rin took his seat next to Shiemi. The blonde-haired girl stared quietly at the board in her seat as Yukio dove into their lesson.

Rin couldn't take his eyes off her. The way her green eyes twinkled in the fluorescent light of the classroom made him want to stare deeply into them and never look away. The sting of when she friend-zoned him in Kyoto was still fresh in his mind. If this talent show went well, she would be begging for him to be with her.

SLAM!

"OKUMURA!"

Rin snapped out of his trance. The slam on his desk woke him back up to the outside world. Yukio towered over him in front of his desk.

"Pay attention," the younger Okumura brother said calmly, though Rin could tell he was trying to keep his composure.

"Sorry, teach," Rin replied with a roll of his eyes. He rested his head on his left hand to settle into the lesson.

He couldn't wait for rehearsals that night already, and it was just the first class.

* * *

A week passed by just like that, and before Rin knew it, they were just a few days away from the talent show audition. Things had been going well; they knew the songs backwards, forwards, and in circles and they sounded like they had been singing together ten years rather than just over a week.

Once the four of them felt confident in their vocals, Suguro shifted responsibility for their dancing to Rin.

That was where the problems started.

"Ow! Koneko! You stepped on my foot!" Shima cried after having his foot stepped on for the fifth time.

"Sorry," Konekomaru bowed and apologized.

Shima growled in frustration. "Get it together, man! We only have a few days before the show."

"I know! I've never danced like this before, so I'm sorry if I am not a natural like Okumura is here!"

Rin stepped in to break the two apart.

"Hey, guys. Come on. Let's not fight," he said before turning to smile at the bald boy. "I know it's hard, Konekomaru. You're doing fine. Just take it one step at a time. Okay?"

Konekomaru nodded hesitantly.

"Good. Alright, let's run it again."

Rin put the mixtape they all made into the stereo and started things from the top. Everything went well through the first few songs, and Rin thought they were finally going to get through the whole thing without messing up.

A crash was heard as they came out of a collective spin. Rin looked over and saw Suguro and Konekomaru on the ground. The rooster-haired teenager's face turned beet red and Rin knew he was ready to go off.

"DAMN IT, KONEKOMARU!" Suguro roared.

"S-S-Sorry, Bon," the cat-faced boy apologized timidly.

Suguro jumped up, ready to kill him, but Shima wrapped him in a full nelson to hold him back.

"Come on, Bon," he urged. "Now is not the time to be fighting."

"We've only got a few days left before the audition!" Suguro shouted. "He's been holding us back this whole time!"

"_Whew!" _

An amused whistle came from the doorway. They turned to find Yukio leaning against the doorframe, an equally amused smile on his face. His eyes twinkled mischievously.

"What are you doing here, mole face?" Rin bit. "We're busy right now."

Yukio chuckled and stepped into the studio. "Looks like there's a lot more fighting going on than working." He pushed his glasses further up his nose so that a glare of light covered his eyes. "If only you guys had a competent instructor to help you along."

Rin scoffed. "You think you can do better than me?"

"Of course I can."

"Okay, why don't you show us then, Mr. Okumura?" Shima interjected. Suguro finally calmed down enough for him to be let go.

Yukio thought about it for a moment, but replied, "No."

Rin narrowed his eyes at the younger twin. "So why are you here then? Come to just make fun of us?"

"Easy, cowboy," Yukio placated him. "I didn't come here to make fun of you. But if you all want my help, I expect to be asked nicely."

Rin breathed through his nose. As much as he hated groveling before his brother for help, they needed some extra help in getting themselves ready for the show. It came to him. Five members made more sense than four, so maybe he could join them.

"Fine," he muttered. "Yukio, would you help us tighten up our dancing?"

Yukio raised an eyebrow, wanting more.

"Please."

The younger Okumura twin shrugged. "Alright. I'll help. Here is how you do it."

It took him ten minutes to help Konekomaru get everything down the way it needed to be done. Rin, Suguro, and Shima were amazed at how good of a dance teacher he was.

"He may even be better than you, Okumura," Shima breathed.

"Shut up!" Rin bit, but he was also amazed at the speed at which Konekomaru picked up the routine just from a few minutes with Yukio. "How do you even know our routine anyway, Four Eyes?"

Yukio smirked and pointed up to the cameras on the corners of the ceiling. "I've been watching you guys this whole time. I know every single part of it."

He turned to Konekomaru as he finished the choreography, smirking at the shocked faces of the other three. "Think you've got it now?"

Konekomaru nodded. "I think so. Thanks, Mr. Okumura."

Yukio smiled. "My pleasure."

Suguro and Shima seemed to have the same idea that Rin had, so they urged him to step up and ask.

"Hey, Yukio," he said. "Do you want to join us for the show? Having five members makes more sense than four, and you seem to know the routine. Want to do it?"

Yukio raised his index finger to his chin to think about it. Rin did have a point: Most great boy bands had five members, and he knew how to break things down for them. On top of that, he wasn't busy with too much else. He didn't see a problem with joining them for the show.

He shrugged. "Yeah, sure. I don't mind. Someone has to keep you four guys from killing each other."

"I'm not sure about that," said Suguro. "We only have a few days to go, and we're not sure how you would fit in with the rest of our group, Mr. Okumura."

Yukio raised his hand. "Not to worry, Mr. Suguro. I have been studying you guys this whole time. As for singing, I'm a little bit closer to you."

With his worries eased, Suguro didn't see the harm in letting him in. As long as he knew the entire routine, they would be fine.

"Okay, then I'm all for it," he said. "Let's get back to work, guys."

"Aye aye, sir," Shima replied with a salute as the newly minted group of five started everything from the top.

The work was only just beginning.

* * *

**That it is. Will the boys get everything right in time? Find out next time. **

**Work on the last chapter, the talent show itself, is already commencing as we speak. This will be up much faster than the time it took to get from chapter one to now. As always, tell me how I am doing with the characters so that I know whether or not my characterization is right on. I've watched enough of both the first season and Kyoto Saga over the past few months that I think I have them down pat, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. **

**See you guys soon ;-)**


	3. Show Time

**Hi, guys. Sorry for the long delay, but I was focusing on other stories and I was struggling how to end this story. Along the way, I had an idea and changed how the final chapter went. Hope you guys like it. **

**Disclaimer: Do not own Blue Exorcist or any of the songs used in this chapter. They all belong to their respective owners. I'm just using them for your entertainment.**

* * *

"_**Any way the wind blows." **_

The five performers bowed their heads to signify the end of the song. But no applause was there to greet them. Instead, they looked out to an almost empty auditorium. Sweat dotted their brows and they breathed heavily to get air back into their lungs after singing and dancing nonstop for almost eight minutes.

In the front row of the auditorium, the judges jotted things down on their clipboards. There was not a trace of emotion on their faces, only heightening the performers' anxiety.

"Thank you, gentlemen," the head judge, Mr. Tsubaki, said. "Please wait out in the hall with everyone else. We will announce the results once we get through all the acts. Next!"

The group cleared the stage to make room for the next prospective act and went out into the hall. The energy between them was optimistic as they exchanged high fives and bro hugs, but there was still a sense that maybe they didn't perform well enough to get in.

"Aw, crap. I think I messed up on that high note," Shima grimaced.

"No, you hit it just fine, Shima," Konekomaru assured him. "I was the one who messed up. I was so nervous that my throat thinned and I couldn't hit the falsetto well enough."

"If you're nervous now, I can't imagine how you'll be if we do the show," Suguro glared at him. "We can't have you chicken out on us again, Konekomaru. I still haven't forgiven you for when the three of us were going to perform in the street to earn money for the temple."

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry, Bon?" Konekomaru replied defensively.

"You were so paralyzed by stage fright that we couldn't do it!"

"I was ten! I had never done anything like that before."

Shima wisely stayed out of this and drifted over to the Okumura twins.

"Think we did well enough to get in?" he asked.

Yukio shrugged. "Hopefully we did."

"Of course we did!" Rin beamed brightly. "We kicked so much ass that they can't not let us in."

"Don't be so overconfident, Rin," Yukio warned.

After half an hour, all of the acts had finally gone. Now, everyone sat nervously in their seats as they anxiously awaited the results. Despite their earlier hesitation, Rin and the others felt a bit better about their chances.

It took fifteen to twenty minutes for the judges to deliberate on who got into the show. Mr. Tsubaki stepped onto the stage to make the announcement.

"First off, I want to thank you all for auditioning today," he said. "I am so happy to see how talented many of our students are. It is most unfortunate that we have to cut some acts out, but we only have room for six. Some of you will be going home."

Tsubaki then pulled out a clipboard to read off of.

"If your act is called, you will be performing in the show tomorrow," he said before looking down to read.

Rin's hand clenched into a fist as Tsubaki read through three different acts. Now he was starting to get nervous. Maybe they didn't do as well as he thought they did. His big chance to impress Shiemi looked like it was going to pass him by.

"Kobayashi and his ventriloquist act," Tsubaki said.

Rin's fist shook.

"The group of Sukizo, Minato, and Matsuzaki."

His face scrunched in tension. He held his breath and prayed silently to any deity that would listen to let them be the last act in.

"And finally, the group of Okumura, Okumura, Shima, Suguro, and Miwa," Tsubaki announced after he had read through five names. "That is who will be performing tomorrow. The rest of you, thank you for auditioning."

The five of them finally let go of the breath they had been holding this whole time. They had made the cut. By all means, they should be celebrating this achievement, but they kept their excitement contained as they got out of the auditorium.

The group of five walked silently down the hall to the music room with straight faces. Once they entered the room and closed the door, they let their excitement out. Whooping and hollering, embracing each other, and having a good time.

"WE DID IT!" Rin shouted as he and Shima embraced.

"Alright, alright," Suguro said with a small smile. "We did what we had to do to get in. Tomorrow is when we really need to up our game. If we want to impress everyone and win the talent show, we have to be better than we were today."

Yukio nodded. "That's right. There is still a lot we can improve on. Let's practice."

Rin, Shima, and Konekomaru nodded in agreement as they walked back to Rin and Yukio's dorm. They practiced well into the night, stopping at some time after midnight.

* * *

Rin tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. He was too excited about tomorrow.

He looked over at his clock.

_4:25. _

'_Ugh! I can't sleep anymore,' _he moaned as he rolled over out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. Yukio's room was just down the hall, so he didn't have to worry about making so much noise this late at night.

Rin zombie walked down to the kitchen and went to the fridge to get a drink. His throat felt like he swallowed a bunch of sand. He drank the water down in three big gulps and sat down at a table.

Everything came rushing to him like a heart attack. Tomorrow was one of the biggest days of his high school career, and could possibly be life-changing if Shiemi asked him to go out with her.

'_Oh, Rin. You're so cool. I've always wanted to go out with a guy like you,' _he imagined her saying after he and the guys won the talent show. A funny grin spread on his face as he envisioned every detail of what was going to happen.

He could hardly wait!

* * *

He couldn't stay calm.

Rin paced back and forth on the floor backstage. Anxiety and nerves twisted his stomach into knots. He had been fine all day before they arrived for the show, but now that they were there, Rin was having a hard time keeping it together.

The talent show had already begun, and judging by the amount of applause that greeted some acts, it was a full house. Rin felt his stomach twist again.

Thank goodness he and the others hadn't gone first. The tension would have been too much for them, and their performance would have suffered. They would be going last because they were the last act to get into the show. Some liked going last, but not him. Rin preferred to get things over with right away.

He wasn't alone in his nerves. Nobody else could speak. The tension was so thick in their little corner of the backstage area that it could be cut with a knife.

Shima twiddled his thumbs as he struggled to stay calm. Suguro stood against a wall with his arms folded across his chest, looking strong and silent without any trace of emotion. Even so, Rin sensed the tension from the rooster-haired teenager. Yukio sat silently with his back against a crate. His face was calm. Poor Konekomaru looked like he was going to be sick. His face was a dark shade of green, his mouth agape like he was ready to throw up. He clutched his stomach to try and keep his nerves down. They all wore colorful outfits with a variation of shorts and jeans.

"You know, if you move fast enough, you could burn a hole in the floor, Rin," Yukio joked.

Rin shot a dirty look at him. Now wasn't the time to be joking around. They were set to go up after this next act finished. Everyone felt queasier as the seconds ticked by.

"_Hic!" _Konekomaru retched.

Then again.

"I think I'm gonna be –" he started to say until his body heaved. He covered his mouth and ran for the nearest trashcan. He bent over it and expelled the contents of his stomach in two bursts.

His four friends cringed in disgust and sympathy for him. It was horrible to look at, especially for Shima and Suguro. This scene was all too familiar for them. The pink-haired boy got up from his spot on the floor to provide some support for Konekomaru.

"It's alright, Koneko," he murmured softly, patting the boy on the back as Konekomaru continued to throw up. "It's going to be okay."

"Shima-" the bald-headed boy started to say, but threw up again. Bile dripped from his lips as he looked up at his friend. "Shima, I don't think I can do this."

Shima smiled as Suguro joined them. "You can do it. We're all here for ya."

While they took care of their friend, Yukio watched from the wings as the act before them performed. Something about the song selection sounded familiar. When the group onstage finished with one more song, it was then that it hit him.

"Oh no," he muttered.

"What's up?" Rin asked, joining at his side. Once he heard the song, Yukio saw blue flames start to flicker on Rin's body. The older Okumura twin gnashed his teeth as a guttural growl came from the depths of his throat. The fangs grew sharper, along with the wild look in his eyes.

"Rin, chill out," Yukio said, trying to put out the fire before it could erupt.

"THOSE BASTARDS STOLE OUR ACT!" Rin roared. His fingernails sharpened into claws. "THEY'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!"

Yukio wrapped Rin's arms behind his back before he could charge out and tear the performers limb from limb.

"LET ME GO, DAMNIT!"

Suguro came over to see what was going on. Konekomaru was just hanging over the trashcan now with nothing left to throw up, thankfully. Shima patted him on the back.

"Everything okay, guys?" he asked.

Yukio sighed sadly, keeping his grip on Rin tight as his brother thrashed around to try and break free.

"No, everything is not okay. We're going to have to do something else for our act," he said, pointing out to the stage. "They're also doing Queen songs."

Suguro clenched his hand into a fist. "Damn it," he grumbled. If only they had been allowed to sit in the auditorium during auditions, then they would have known about this problem beforehand.

The burly teenager's stomach leapt into his throat. "Any ideas?" he asked with pleading eyes.

The Okumura twins replied with lost looks. It was so close to being their turn to go on. They couldn't just undo everything they had practiced during those two weeks. Rin, Yukio, and Suguro racked their brains for any good vocal groups they liked.

After two seconds of tense silence, Yukio spoke up.

"I think I've got it," he said with a snap of his fingers. "Any of you guys know Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons?"

Suguro nodded. "Sure, the three of us used to sing them a lot. What songs are we gonna do? I still want to keep with the medley thing."

One of the backstage hands came back for them.

"Okay, get ready to go up, boys," the man said. "You're on."

"Just a minute," Suguro replied as Shima and Konekomaru joined them. Konekomaru was still green around the gills, but done throwing up.

"What's going on here?" the pink-haired boy asked.

Suguro sighed, feeling he should be the one to break the bad news to him and Konekomaru. "We have to change our performance," he said. "The act before us did Queen songs too, and we can't be a copycat." He growled. "If only we had been allowed into the auditorium to watch the other auditions."

"But we weren't," Yukio tried to defuse the situation. "There's nothing we can do about that."

Shima bit his lip. "What will we be doing now?" he asked. On the outside he seemed calm, but he was freaking out on the inside. He couldn't learn a whole new routine in just one minute. His dad and brothers were here, and he could not embarrass himself in front of them. He'd never hear the end of it.

"Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons," replied Suguro.

Konekomaru panicked. "WHAT? We never practiced that!" he protested. His face started to turn dark green again. "Ugh. I think I'm gonna be sick again."

He covered his mouth and took two steps towards the trashcan, but Suguro grabbed him by his collar.

"Now is not the time to get sick!" he said sternly. "We are going to pull this out, guys. Come on! Keep it together."

The stagehand returned, sounding anxious and annoyed that they had not gone out to the stage yet.

"Let's go, boys!" he said through gritted teeth. "You're on!"

He took one look at Konekomaru.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine," Shima nodded, patting Konekomaru on the shoulder. "He'll be alright once he gets out there. Right, Koneko?"

The bald headed boy nodded and weakly gave a thumbs up.

The stagehand shrugged. "Okay then," he said. "Good luck."

Yukio stopped him before he could completely leave the room.

"Hey, tell them that we have changed our act from a medley of Queen songs to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons," he said.

The man blinked at them.

"That's not what you boys auditioned with," he said. "I'm sorry, but you have to do what you auditioned with. The rules say –"

Rin eyed him dangerously. "I don't give a damn what the rules say!" he roared. "This is what we want to do!"

The room went quiet as the unfortunate stagehand saw the flaming spark in his eyes. Blue flames flickered on his clothes. For a second, the man saw his life flash before his eyes.

"Okay, okay," he said in a small voice, hands raised in front of him. "I'll let them know. Good luck, boys."

He hightailed it out of there before anything else could happen.

Yukio looked at Rin chidingly. "Was that really necessary, Rin?"

Rin smiled impishly. "I think he got the point," he said.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, our final act of the talent show. These five boys will be performing a medley of Queen songs," said the emcee. A note was given to him by the stagehand. "Hold on. They will actually be doing a medley of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Give it up for Rin and Yukio Okumura, Ryuji Suguro, Renzo Shima, and Konekomaru Miwa."

Before they went out, Yukio finally figured out what songs to do.

"Okay, we'll do 'Big Girls Don't Cry', 'Sherry', 'Walk Like A Man', and 'Oh, What A Night'," he said quickly. "Follow my lead."

"But-But-But-But-" Konekomaru started to protest, but was dragged out by Suguro.

"Come on!"

Polite applause greeted them as the group came out onstage and stood in front of the microphone stands. Everything fell quiet as they glanced around at each other, unsure of what to do. Konekomaru looked like he was going to hurl his guts up again. The crowd started growing impatient, with some yelling for them to do something.

_Tap! Tap, tap! _

Yukio started tapping his foot. The others copied after he gave them a look encouraging them to follow. They did this two more times before Yukio belted out the first lines of the song.

"_Big girls don't cry." _

Figuring it was better than looking stupid, the others joined in.

_Everyone: Big girls don't cry. _

They all started snapping their fingers and bobbing around. The back music played in their heads to keep them on track.

_Everyone: Big girls _

_Yukio: Don't cry. _

_Backup: They don't cry. _

_Yukio: Big girls don't cry_

_Backup: Who said they don't cry? _

_Everyone: My girl_

Konekomaru swallowed the nervousness in his throat and sang out the next line, which sounded a lot higher than his normal falsetto voice.

_Konekomaru: Said goodbye. _

_Backup: My oh my. _

_Konekomaru: My girl didn't cry. _

_Backup: I wonder why. _

They paused to transition into the pre-chorus. Suguro stepped up to do the bass part with every line that Yukio sang.

_Suguro: Silly boy. _

_Yukio: Told my girl we had to break up. _

_Suguro: Silly boy. _

_Yukio: But then she would call my bluff. _

_Suguro: Silly boy. _

_Yukio: When she said, to my surprise…_

_Everyone: Big girls don't cry. _

They repeated it three more times before ending the song. The crowd cheered with applause, but the performance was not over yet.

Suguro mimicked the bass line of the next song. The nervousness that was there in the first song faded a little, but was still present.

_Everyone: Sherry. Sherry, baby. Sherry. Sherry baby. _

_Konekomaru: Sherry, can you come out tonight? _

_Backup: Come, come. Come out tonight. _

_Konekomaru: Sherry, baby. _

_Backup: Sherry, baby. _

_Konekomaru: Sherry, can you come out tonight? _

_Suguro: Why don't you come on? _

_Backup: Come on. _

Rin took his chance and sang the next verse. His eyes were fixated on where he saw Shiemi sitting in the auditorium with Izumo and Paku.

_Rin: Come on, twist party. _

_Backup: Come on. _

_Rin: Where the bright moon shines. _

_Backup: Come on. _

_Rin: We'll dance the night away. I'm gonna make you mine. _

_Everyone: Sherry, Sherry baby. Sherry. Sherry baby. Come, come. Come out tonight. Come, come. Come out tonight. Sherry baby. _

They held the last note for about ten seconds before finally ending the song with fist pumps. The crowd applauded them again, this time with more enthusiasm. The group wasted no time going to the next song.

_Everyone: Walk like a man. _

Shima smirked as he found Izumo in the audience. Not far away from her, his father and brothers sat near the back. His time to shine had finally come, and he was going to make the most of it.

_Shima: Oh, how you've tried (ooh wah), to cut me down to size(ooh wah). Telling dirty lies to my friends. _

_Backup: Ooh wah. Ooh wah. Ooh wah. _

"YEAH! RENZO!" Kinzo cried.

Shima blushed in embarrassment as he tried to focus on the next line.

_Shima: My own father (ooh wah), said give her up, don't bother (ooh wah). The world isn't coming to an end. _

_Suguro: He said it…_

_Everyone: Walk like a man, talk like a man. Walk like a man, my son. No woman's worth, crawling on the earth. _

_Shima: So walk like a man, my son. _

Their voices merged into the most beautiful sound as they did the introduction with Konekomaru doing the falsetto vocalizations and the others following up with a "Walk," every time.

_Suguro: He said it…_

_Everyone: Walk like a man, fast as I can. Walk like a man from you. I'll tell the world, forget about it, girl. _

_Shima: And walk like a man from you. _

The intro one last time and then went into one final burst of vocals.

_Everyone: Walk like a man. Like a man. _

This time, the auditorium erupted with enthusiastic cheers and applause. The group members heaved to get air back into their lungs. Smiles sprang up their faces, taking in all of the cheers and applause. This could not have worked out better than they imagined.

There was still one more song to do, and they were going to give the audience what they wanted.

_Everyone: Oh, what a night. _

_Shima: Late December, back in '63. What a very special time for me. As I remember what a night. _

The audience clapped their hands along with the rhythm of the song, only fueling the fire that was now a raging inferno inside of the boys.

_Everyone: Oh, what a night. _

_Yukio: You know, I didn't even know her name. But I was never gonna be the same. What a lady, what a night. _

_Konekomaru: Oh I. I got a funny feeling when she walked in the room. Yeah, and I. As I recall, it ended much too soon. _

_Everyone: Oh, what a night. _

_Suguro: Hypnotized, and mesmerizing me. She was everything I dreamed she'd be. Sweet surrender, what a night. _

_Everyone: Oh, what a night. _

_Rin: Why'd it take so long to see the light? Seemed so wrong, and it seemed so right. What a lady, what a night. _

With the outro, some of them would sing "Oh, what a night" after the others sang "Do, do-do. Do-do" several times. It continued a few more times before they finished with one last "Oh, what a night."

They were greeted by a standing ovation that lasted for two minutes. The quintet went stage right to exit the stage. Before they could celebrate, a cry started to slowly take hold of the audience.

"ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!" they chanted. "ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!"

The boys looked off to the emcee for approval. The man simply shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. They were the last act anyway, so what was one more song, the man thought.

"What song should we do?" Shima asked.

Suguro was quick with his response. "Who Loves You."

Rin, Yukio, and Konekomaru nodded enthusiastically, as did Shima after another second.

"Who is going to sing the lead on it?" Shima added.

Konekomaru shied away when the others looked at him, immediately shaking his head. "Don't look at me."

They looked around the circle, hoping someone would volunteer for it. The audience was getting restless, and they needed to move fast or there was a good possibility the audience would riot.

Yukio finally broke the ice by putting an arm around Rin's shoulder.

"I think Rin should do it," he said.

Rin was surprised. "Wh-What?" he replied. "Why me?"

"Because you're the guy that started this whole thing and brought us together," said Suguro. "I think it's only fair you're the one to carry us across the finish line."

"Bon's right," Shima agreed. "You should do it."

Konekomaru nodded. "Affirmative."

Rin looked at each of his friends, and his confidence grew with each smile and nod. His face erupted in a bright smile.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" he exclaimed. "LET'S GO!"

He took two steps and leapt two feet into the air with excitement. The others followed him back out onto the stage. The audience roared with happiness.

Suguro snapped his fingers in a count off.

_Everyone: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night? Who loves you, pretty mama? Who's always there to make it right? _

The audience screamed and roared loudly at the song.

_Everyone: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night? Who loves you, pretty mama? Who's always there to make it right? Who loves you? _

_Rin: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna love ya, mama? _

_Backup: Who loves you? _

_Rin: Who loves you, pretty baby? _

_Rin: When the tears are in your eyes, and you can't find the way. _

_Backup: Ahh. _

_Rin: It's hard to make believe you're happy when you're grey._

_Backup: Ahh. _

_Rin: Baby, when you're feeling like you'll never see the morning lights, come to me. Baby, you'll see. _

_Everyone: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night? Who loves you, pretty mama? Who's always there to make it? Who loves you? _

_Rin: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna love ya, mama? _

_Backup: Who loves you? _

_Rin: Who's gonna love you, love you? Who's gonna love you? _

_Everyone: Who loves you? _

The crowd erupted in loud, ear-splitting cheers and gave the group a standing ovation. The boys heaved to catch their breath as bright, victorious smiles spread across their faces. They had done it!

* * *

The crowd and performers waited anxiously for the judges to deliver the results. They had been waiting for five minutes already, and Rin was more nervous now than he was before he performed.

"What's taking them so long?" he hissed, clenching his fist as he watched from the wings. All the other acts were told to stay backstage until the results were announced.

Yukio patted him on the back. "These things take time, Rin," the younger brother said. "There were plenty of good acts before us, so it's bound to be a tough decision."

Rin's head turned his head to glare at him. "I guess," he shrugged before a big bright smile flashed on his face. "But none of them were better than us. Oh, man! I can't believe we pulled that off. If we win this, I'll make all your meals for a week. You saved the show for us."

Yukio chuckled. "That does sound tempting. Alright, I'll take you up on that."

Finally, the emcee stepped up to the microphone with an enclosed envelope in his hands. The room fell deathly quiet in anticipation.

"Thank you all for your patience," he said. "And now, before I announce the winners of the True Cross Academy Talent Contest, I want to say that the judges and I were very inspired by all of the performances here tonight. We are so lucky to have so many talented students that it's a shame we only had to pick one winner."

'_Yeah, yeah. Alright. Just get on with it!' _Rin stared daggers into the man's head.

"And so, without further ado, the winners of the True Cross Academy Talent Contest are…" the man opened the envelope and pulled out the small slip of paper and read it for a brief moment.

Rin felt a cold sweat drip down his neck.

"The team of Suguro, Shima, Miwa, and the Okumura brothers!"

For a second, Rin thought his ears deceived him. Even with his advanced demon-level hearing, he didn't think he heard it right. Had they just announced his group's name? It didn't feel real until Suguro grabbed him from behind and lifted him up in a big bear hug.

"We did it!" the burly teen exclaimed happily. "We did it! We did it, Rin!"

Shima got a little too caught up in the excitement and jumped on Suguro's back, who luckily kept his balance. Yukio and Konekomaru were much more reserved in their excitement, watching as their three more exuberant friends celebrated.

"YEAH!" Rin yelled.

The three of them stopped their celebration and the group ran out to the stage to accept the trophy. The crowd applauded them with another standing ovation. Shima looked out and saw his dad and brothers smiling proudly at him. Kinzo stuck two fingers into his mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle. Suguro was shocked to see his parents sitting near the front row, but gave them a smile and nod as they waved at him.

Rin was all smiles, feeling like the king of the world.

* * *

"RENZO!"

Shima gagged loudly as his brother grabbed him in a headlock in the reception area of the auditorium. Everyone gathered to congratulate all of the acts on a job well done.

"Kin, you son of a whore!" he choked. "Let me go!"

Kinzo chuckled and pressed his knuckles deep into the top of his brother's skull. "Now, is that any way to talk to your dear brother, Renzo?" he teased, deepening the noogie.

Luckily for Shima, Juzo stepped in.

"Come on, Kinzo. Let him breathe," he said, unwrapping Shima from his brother's hold. He slapped a hand on his shoulder. "We're proud of you, Renzo. You were awesome."

Shima blushed embarrassedly. "Thanks, Juzo."

The rest of the group laughed watching the three brothers together. Yukio looked back and saw Shiemi, Izumo, and Paku walking towards them.

"Well, look who's here," he said with a sly grin.

Rin and Shima's faces erupted pink at the sight of their respective crushes. The raven-haired boy was dismayed to see Shiemi was not acting the way he thought she would be in his dreams. She looked happy, but not much else. Nothing to say she was blown away with him.

"Great job, guys," Paku said. "You were amazing! That was incredible."

Shima chuckled. "Thanks, Paku," he said before glancing at Izumo. "What'd you think, Izumo? I was pretty awesome, huh?"

The girl shrugged. "It was okay, I guess."

_Crack! _

Shima heard the sound of his fragile little heart breaking into a thousand pieces. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. He kept his cool as he made his move.

"Say, uh, Izumo," he began slowly, watching her face for the tiniest bit of iciness to show up. "You doing anything next Saturday? I was thinking, since I'm kind of a big deal now, that you'd like to go out with me before more girls come breaking down my door." He smirked. "What do you say?"

Izumo studied him with her famous icy glare. A nervous sweat dotted the pink-haired boy's brow. He knew that look well, having been on the receiving end numerous times. Even so, he saw a flicker of interest where there was none before.

"Sorry, but my mother told me to stay away from performers," she declined. With a flick of her hair, she turned her nose away from him with a hmph. "Come on, Paku. Let's go."

Shima felt his jaw hit the floor, and heard whatever was left of his heart completely shatter as the two girls walked away. He stayed in that pose for what felt like an eternity.

His father leaned over, struggling to contain his laughter, and said, "Give her up. Don't bother," he teased, slapping Shima on the shoulder. "The world isn't coming to an end. Walk like a man, my son."

Juzo and Kinzo snickered and walked out of the auditorium with their father. Suguro and Konekomaru smiled wryly as they walked off to see Bon's parents.

"Rin, Yuki, you both were wonderful! That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Shiemi exclaimed, hugging the two boys. Rin glowed as red as a tomato.

"Th-Thanks," he choked. "Y-You're squeezing too hard."

The blonde blushed. "Oh, sorry," she said, letting them go.

"If you guys will excuse me," Yukio said, adjusting his glasses before walking away. He flashed Rin a look that said, '_Good luck.' _

Rin felt her green eyes stare deeply into his soul. The blush on his face darkened as they waited for either one to say something. This was a scenario he imagined countless times in the two weeks before the show, but now that it was here, he didn't know what to do.

"Rin–"

"Shiemi–"

They both stopped, realizing they said each other's name at the same time.

"You go first," Rin mumbled, shifting his feet nervously.

Shiemi bit her bottom lip, struggling to come up with the right words to say next. Rin heard his heart beating rapidly in his ears.

"Rin, I've been wanting to say this for a while," she said slowly. "And after today, I can't hold it back anymore."

"Yeah?" The smile on his face grew even more, waiting in breathless anticipation for what he knew was coming.

Shiemi took a big inhale through her nose and let it out slowly, turning as red as Rin. She couldn't believe that she was doing this.

A pause.

"Will you show me how to do those dance moves?"

Rin wanted to scream, flare up, and then trash the entire auditorium. He couldn't believe it. She only wanted dance lessons, not to say she really liked him. This was probably even worse than when she friend-zoned him in Kyoto.

As much as he wanted to do all of that, he forced an unsteady smile on his face.

"Y-Yeah, sure," he said through his tightly clenched teeth. "I'd be happy to."

"Oh, thank you, Rin!" Shiemi exclaimed, giving him a hug. "After watching you up there, I knew you were the right person to teach me. Well, I've gotta go get some dancing shoes. See you."

And with that, she left. Along with whatever remained of Rin's hope to ask her out.

Azure flames flickered on his clothes as his anger reached dangerous levels. What was supposed to be the best day of his life had turned into a complete disaster.

He heard snickers to his right and turned to glare at the culprit.

"Shut up, Shima!" he roared.

The pink-haired boy tried to contain his giggles, lest he risk bearing the full wrath of Rin when he was angry.

"I'm sorry, dude, but that was rough," he snickered. "I feel for ya, man."

"Yeah? Well, what about you? How did it go with Izumo?" Rin shot back. "Did she fall all over you like you were hoping?"

Shima's cocky grin was wiped away instantly. "Not exactly."

"So, in other words, she told you no again, right?"

"You said it, partner. Guess we're doomed to a life of eternal women-less suffering."

* * *

**Ouch. Stiff-armed again. Hope you guys enjoyed this story because it was a fun side thing to do for me. I may do some more work with Blue Exorcist in the future ;-) We'll see where that goes. **

**Once again, I do not own any song usage in this chapter. All of it goes to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Queen at the beginning. Be sure to leave a review telling me your thoughts and any suggestions I could do for Blue Exorcist in the future. **

**Hope to see you all real soon. **


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